Hare Krishna-run Govinda vegetarian restaurants are found all over Peru.
Vegetarians do not get surprise meat on their plates, and for £1 per set meal, budget travelers will have difficulty finding a cheaper place to fill their tummies.
Lima: Schell 634, Miraflores / Jirón Callao 480, central Lima.
Cuzco: Espaderos 128.
Arequipa: Jerusalen 505
Puno: Deustua 312.
And in other cities in Peru.
You have to try a 'Wok to Walk', they are so addictive and they taste great - I bet once you try one you'll pass this tip on!
Wait until 10.30am before eating, then order a Rijstaffel at an Indonesian restaurant - a marvellous start to the day.
Check out Da Groene Lantaarn located on the canal (Bloemgracht 47) in the Jordaan district - this fantastic fondue restaurant is off the main drag, but well worth the trek.
Every kind of fondue is on offer, but no meal is finished until you have the chocolate fondue. It's a terrifically romantic place, and we were lucky enough to be there in the snow - it holds many happy memories.
Bloemgracht 47
1016KD Amsterdam
Good vegetarian/vegan food at Green Planet, Golden Temple and the Maoz falafel chain.
www.greenplanet.nl/index2.htm
www.restaurantgoldentemple.com/
Make absolutely certain that you don't leave without tasting the Dutch take on chips and mayonnaise, which is superb and which - try as we might - we've been unable to reproduce at home.
When visiting Amsterdam and doing the tourist thing, walk down the always-busy Kalverstraat untill you come to Vroom and Dreesman, the nicest and freshest restaurant in town.
Walk through the front area and up the stairs and choose your own food from one of the many cooking islands. You can see your food being freshly prepared in front of you, with the freshest vegetables. You also can wash it down with a bottle of chilled wine or beer.
Vroom and Dreesman is particularly good if you're a vegetarian like me, as the pick-and-mix approach is very convienient.
This is an excellent, clean restaurant serving traditional south Peruvian food in a beautiful garden setting.
If you are intrigued about Peru's famous raw fish dish, ceviche, but not sure where would be safe to eat it, this is a good place. The standards are high and the place is very popular with wealthier locals and business people. Still, prices are cheap for westerners. Service is excellent and you may get to hear local live music even at lunch time.
The restaurant is on the outskirts of the city but all the taxis know how to get there. Av. Dolores 111, Sun-Thu closes at 7pm. Fri-Sat closes at 10pm.
Lovely, cosy little restaurant in San Blas owned by a Canadian lady serving amazingly rich and tasty dishes. I'd recommend the medallions, from what I remember you get a beautiful cheesy mash with it.
I lived in Cusco for a year and this place was always a guilty pleasure!
Carmen Bajo 169 San Blas, Cusco, Peru
This is a bakery that sells cakes so delicious you will come back again and again.
We bought some fresh alfajores (2 round crumbly biscuits with a layer of dulche de leche inside and a bit of coconut flakes on the top) every day we spent in Cusco.
They also have a range of savoury and sweet tarts, hot drinks and breads. Eat in or take away.
The shop is owned by a religious order who looks after orphan girls.
Cuesta de San Blas 579
On the way up to San Blas church, on the left hand side of the road. I think they are closed on Sunday.
An ancient thatched inn that dates back, in part, to the 13th century. Great food and wonderful location on the waterfront with local beers. Just ignore the moody barmaid.
Check it out: www.pandorainn.com/index.php
Just outside of Falmouth: The Pandora Inn, Restronguet Creek, Mylor Bridge, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5ST.
Drive, cycle, walk or catch a boat from Falmouth or Penryn, see directions: www.pandorainn.com/pdf/cycling.pdf
Pub just off the seafront. Excellent beer, usually busy but with a landlord that has time for anyone coming in, regardless of whether they are regulars or, like me, twice a year visitors on the way to or from the Scilly Isles.
Also worth a try, especially if arriving off the Scilly Isles ferry, is the Dolphin pub opposite the quay. A twice-a-year ritual for me and my friends that go with me to Scilly is the walk from the B&B in Alexandra Road to the Dolphin for a meal along the seafront and then to return to the Alexandra afterwards before returning to the B&B.
Can be beautiful, but can be bracing and hairy if the wind's blowing from the south and the tide's up. Watch the local kids dodging (not always successfully) the waves breaking over the seawall.
Alexandra Road, Penzance TR18 4LY. 01736365165
Quite simply the best pasties anywhere - freshly made, massive and gorgeous! Also fascinating to watch - they are made in front of customers and in full view of interested spectators on the street.
Tintagel, Cornwall
An Armenian restaurant. The name means "Come, Come". There are two such, and we ate in the ul Dobrudzha branch. Small rooms in what feels like a private house, so a delightfully intimate experience.
The food was delicious, although the service somewhat erratic. Excellent wines - we had the Tcherga white and red, both superb. No holds barred, our bill was about 60 Leva each, but one need not be so extravagant. A very good evening out, if you don't mind it being leisurely.
Booking a must - on a midweek night we couldn't get a table at the other branch, and ours was full.
ul Dobroudzha 10
02 989 33 83
also
ul Sheinovo 18
02 946 17 35
Where to start? This is a little, six-table, tucked-away Italian restaurant run by patron/chef Emil, a Bulgarian who spent 17 years in Italy.
The night four of us went it was empty (Sofia natives disappear in August). No menu, we willingly went along with whatever Emil proposed. After bruschetta, wonderful antipasti, then a ravioli (home made, of course) of spinach and ricotta with a gentle creamed tomato sauce with shrimps and courgettes. Each flavour given its proper due.
Then two of us shared a salt-baked fish, two shared a fillet steak with fresh peppercorns. Although we had no room for more, Emil suggested we share a tiramisu and a torta ricotta. How can I ever eat another tiramisu, now that I know how it can be? Both desserts made for the Gods. Limoncello on the house.
Only Italian wines here, so perhaps wine is a little more expensive than elsewhere. Each dish simple, each element a perfection of taste and texture, cooked with passion. What more could one want? This was a meal I will never forget. For such a memory, we spent 60 Leva each, about €30. Booking is essential. (I know, it was empty the night we went, but that was chance!)
ulitsa Lavele 11 - entrance in ul Lom
02 986 08 54
(between bul Todor Aleksandrov and bul. Aleksanser Stambolski)
open 11.30 - midnight
Closed Sundays
Perhaps one of the only restaurants of its type in Europe, this intimate little eatery serves up piping hot Japanese pancakes - imagine a big potato pie stuffed with fillings - and boasts a stunning location in the picturesque Jordaan. Mains from around 13 Euros: check out the 'dancing fish flakes' for added entertainment.
Tweede Eglantiersdwarsstraat 24a (a side street off Eglantiersgracht perpendicular to the west side of Prinsengracht)
www.japanesepancakeworld.com
+31 20 320 4447
I found this place whilst on holiday in Cornwall in July. It's a bar/ restaurant/ live music venue in the most beautiful idyllic setting literally yards from the beach on the edge of a nature reserve.
Great views, great food, great music, great service. And it seems to be open round the clock too!
Sandsifter Bar and Restaurant
Godrevy Towans
Gwithian
Hayle TR27 5ED Tel: 01736 758457
We visit the Lizard regularly to stay with family and trips would not be complete without visiting Roskilly's Farm once or twice. Lovely walks around extensive ponds, woodland and the coastal paths and a working organic dairy farm. Children love seeing the cows being milked - followed by the Roskilly family's homemade ice cream made from the aforementioned Jersey cows.
The Croust House is their lovely cafe with wholesome food (meringue glace with homemade clotted cream, you can't beat it). We even stayed in one of their holiday cottages for a week one year, homely, comfy and very friendly. Also enjoy the Roskilly (grown-up) children's creative work in the furniture and stained glass that abound. Oh, and you can buy a little book on how to make clotted cream.
Just had a week down in Cornwall and enjoyed it as always (slowly uploading photos to flickr if interested).
I will recommend The Lugger Hotel, a lovely little hotel in the secluded fishing village of Portloe. I had the most fantastic crab sandwich and glass of white wine sitting in the sun on their terrace overlooking the slipway. Beautiful
www.luggerhotel.co.uk/
My pics: www.flickr.com/photos/juniorbonnerphotography/tags/cornwall/
A fine Indian restaurant with a €11.50 set lunch (not Sundays) and lovely decor. Something different from steak frites - and in a country where Indian restaurants are still a rarity, well worth finding.
Rue de la Clouterie, Chartres - old city centre, 5 mins walk from the cathedral